Feathers is set in a small town in the 1970s, which means that it's a time when race relations are pretty shaky. Right away, the novel shows the reader that there's a great divide between the black side of town and the white side of town—and the two almost never mix. When Jesus Boy (a white boy) shows up at an all-black elementary school, the whole community starts talking. After all, this is something that's simply not done.
But Jesus Boy doesn't identify as white; he was adopted by a black family, and so he feels more comfortable in this community. The book doesn't stop here, though, and it also explores the troubled background of Trevor, a boy who is always angry and refuses to admit that his daddy was a white man. For both Jesus Boy and Trevor, figuring out how to find peace with their racial identities definitely isn't easy.
Questions About Race
- Do you think that everyone has a problem with Jesus Boy mostly because of his race?
- Why haven't people started moving to the other side of the highway now that segregation is technically over?
- Why doesn't anyone ever talk about Trevor's dad and how he is white?
Chew on This
When the book opens up, Frannie thinks that race is pretty clear-cut—you are either white or you're black. When she meets Jesus Boy, though, she realizes that it's more complicated. Even though Jesus Boy is obviously white, he identifies as black because his parents are both black.
The kids in the class initially pick on Jesus Boy because he is so out of place due to his skin color, but they eventually realize that he is just like anyone else. Just because he is of a different race does not mean that they can't relate to each other.